Letter: Happy New Year to all the veterans

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne. For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. We two have run about the braes, and put gowans fine. But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.”

Well, it’s not likely anybody will know all of Robert Burns’ lyrics for this famous drinking song. The first verse will suffice. Regardless, it is thrilling to greet the New Year. All of us have hopes for new beginnings, we have open or secret resolutions to do and be better and the faith to start anew. Once again, using our greatest gift — time! This time of year tends to be a powerful reminder of the passage of time.

There is as Dorothy so eloquently put it, no place like home. We’re all just passing through history. Time has a way of turning the black and white to gray. Memories can be a second chance at love with those we’ve lost. Memories, after all, never die. They are often an escape route and sometimes the road home.

Today, the result is the bottom line and the bottom line is the most important thing. But the bottom line can threaten to erase from the conversation the power, beauty and unpredictability of faith. I’m talking about the amazing manner in which young military men and women have and do face insurmountable odds and myriad of logical reasons why they cannot succeed and still find a way to believe. They believe in themselves. They believe in each other. And yes, they believe in miracles. The ability to believe born of an illogical faith is everywhere. I’ve seen it many times, I know it exists even though I’ve never touched or smelled it. Faith is the reason we call those long, late passes in football a “Hail Mary” and they think they can succeed.

People want to hold on to memories often thinking deep into the night as a connection to a lost military friend or relative. For all of us, each in our own way, try to bring back the people we’ve lost. Either through pictures or other favorite parts of their lives. It won’t only remind us of who they were, but also why we cared.

The veterans of our military are an ancient standard bearer and pop culture icon. They are the kind of heart and soul player that every winning team needs. I wonder if we were thinking the same thing, about the very toughest part. The way our friendship was never supposed to end? “We’ll be friends forever, won’t we?” asked Piglet. “Even longer, little buddy,” Pooh answered.